CARBON
Carbon, an element discovered before history itself, is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. It can be found in the sun, the stars, comets, and the atmospheres of most planets. There are close to ten million known carbon compounds, many thousands of which are vital to the basis of life itself (WWW 1).
Carbon occurs in many forms in nature. One of its purest forms is diamond. Diamond is the hardest substance known on earth. Although diamonds found in nature are colorless and transparent, when combined with other elements its color can range from pastels to black. Diamond is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Until 1955 the only sources of diamond were found in deposits of volcanic origin. Since then
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Carbon dioxide is a colorless, almost odorless gas that is formed by the combustion of carbon. It is a product that results from respiration in most living organisms and is used by plants as a source of carbon. Frozen carbon dioxide, known as dry ice, is used as a refrigerant. Fluorocarbons, such as Freon, are used as refrigerants (Kinoshita 225-226).
Organic compounds are those compounds that occur in nature. The simplest organic compounds consist of only carbon and hydrogen, the hydrocarbons. The state of matter for organic compounds depends on how many carbons are contained in it. If a compound has up to four carbons it is a gas, if it has up to 20 carbons it is a liquid, and if it has more than 20 carbons it is a solid (Kinoshita 230-237).
The carbon cycle is the system of biological and chemical processes that make carbon available to living things for use in tissue building and energy release (Kinoshita 242). All living cells are composed of proteins consisting of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen in various combinations, and each living organism puts these elements together according to its own genetic code. To do this the organism must have these available in special compounds built around carbon. Only plants produce these special compounds, by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process in which chlorophyll traps and uses energy from the sun in the form of light. Six molecules of carbon dioxide combine with six molecules of water to
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants consumed inorganic materials like solar light, carbon dioxide and water and converted it to an organic molecule like sugar and an inorganic gas like oxygen. Light is one of the major elements influencing the rate of photosynthesis; direct light concentration affects the noncyclic pathway (light
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms ' activities. Plants need photosynthesis to survive. The balanced chemical equation for photosynthesis is 6 CO2 + 6 H2O ? C6H12O6 + 6 O2. In English terms, this equation translates to six carbon dioxide plus six
* Diamond is the strongest natural mineral known by a man. It is a crystalline form of carbon.
“Photosynthesis is a biochemical process for building carbohydrates using energy from sunlight and carbon dioxide taken from the air”, (Morris, J. (2016) Biology How Life Works. New York, NY.). It is a system that uses plants and specific algae to synthesize molecules from both water and carbon dioxide. The oxygen we breathe and the food we eat is fueled by photosynthesis because it is an energy source. Photosynthesis occurs in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms and some examples are humans, trees, and plants. Biological systems use photosynthesis as an energy source. Where there is a source of sunlight, there is a chance
The carbon cycle deals with the interaction of carbon between living organisms and the nonliving environment. This cycle is a process through which all carbon rotates. The main result of the carbon cycle is to serve as a great natural "recycler" of carbon atoms.
The historical mistreatment of people of color is one of the largest, yet insufficiently discussed, blotches on the tapestry that is this country's history. While the enslavement of African peoples remains arguably the most well known humans rights violation committed in the United States, the displacement and virtual genocide of Native Americans is an equally detrimental and influential event. The Bureau of American Ethnology estimates the total Native land loss to be somewhere near 1.5 billion acres, and the group currently makes up just over 1 percent of the nation's population. As a consolation prize for the theft of their land, the United States government designated multi acre land plots as reservations to be managed by tribes. These
The Carbon Cycle is the series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
o Even though many functional groups exist, they essentially consist of only 3 main components.
As mentioned before, cellular respiration and photosynthesis have complementary reactants and products. Evidently, carbon dioxide takes part in both processes, but contrast in roles. In the Krebs cycle of cellular respiration, six carbon dioxide molecules are made, but are simply given off as waste after the energy from glucose is evolved to ATP. On the contrary, carbon dioxide is a reactant in photosynthesis. The plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air, then fuse it with Rubisco in the calvin cycle to create
Carbon is what all life is based on. Oxygen sustains life. We most certainly would have not lived had our universe not been guested by Carbon and Oxygen. As mentioned on NYU.edu, Carbon is “…a very special element because it plays a dominant role in the chemistry of life”
Organic compounds are compounds that contain bonds between carbon atoms. In the 1800s, people called compounds that were created by organisms “organic” believing they were different from the compounds in non living things. Even though there is a better understanding of the topic now, the term still stands. Some examples of organic compounds are: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Living things use carbohydrates as their main source of energy. Plants, some animals, and other organisms also use carbohydrates for structural purposes. The breakdown of sugars, such as glucose, supplies immediate energy for cell activities. Many organisms store extra sugar as complex carbohydrates known as starches. Starch is only found on plants.
Fuels such as natural gas (methane) contain hydrocarbons. These are compounds of hydrogen and carbon only. When they burn, the carbon yields
In February 2011, the Australian federal government declared a scheme to implement a Carbon Tax from July 1, 2012. Implementing this scheme has generated a controversial debate between Australians. The term “Carbon tax” refers to an environmental tax forcing polluters to pay per ton of carbon which they release into the atmosphere. This essay will provide the economical, social and political implication of carbon taxes, also with its introduction who will benefit and who would suffer.
Photosynthesis is essential to all living organism such as animals and plants. Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other autotrophs to capture light energy and use it to power chemical reaction that converts carbon dioxide and water into oxygen, carbohydrates and water. (Textbook: Principles of Biology). The reactants and the products of photosynthesis are:
Organic compounds are, by definition, any chemical compound containing carbon. These compounds include carbohydrates, polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Each one of these compounds has a different purpose. Carbohydrates give energy to cells when consumed. Lipids are basically the fats of a cell. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle in a cell. Nucleic acids are used to transfer genetic information from one cell to the other.